Second Chance Kisses

Synopsis:

Do you remember your first love? Have you ever wondered what would happen if you had a second chance to follow your heart? In this collection of novellas written by award-winning and bestselling authors, come home to Echo Ridge as summer winds down and hearts once broken and lost are given one more chance, a second chance to love.

A Brand New Second Chance by Lucy McConnellWith a broken heart and an unsure future, Abigail Martin moves home to Echo Ridge to capture the parts of her teenage years she missed out on because she’d had a steady boyfriend. Kissing a random guy, flirting with strangers, hanging out at Fay’s after a football game—all of it. Carter Montgomery offers his help, because he’s a helpful kind of guy, and she quickly falls for his quiet humor, kindness, and heated kisses. Fearing that she hasn’t lived enough of life to settle down, Abigail must decide if she’s going to break Carter’s heart or give love a brand new second chance.

A Perfect Fit by Janette RallisonJojo Halifax believes that winning Echo Ridge's float competition is just what her fledgling art career needs. And if that means giving her ex-boyfriend, Anthony, a second chance so she can be a designer on his team, well, she's willing to make the sacrifice. But when a lost bet leads to a blind date with her brother's friend, Wyatt, she begins to have second thoughts about second chances. Wyatt is handsome and charming and just might have been paid to make her forget about Anthony. Is falling for his charm worth the risk or should she take Anthony back again?

Almost Home by Heather TullisDamon lived in ten towns while growing up, but Echo Ridge is one of the few that started to feel like home before his parents relocated their family again. Now a widower, moving back to the small ski resort town is irresistible for him—but somewhat less so for his daughter, Maggie. Learning that Haley, the girl who had gotten away, is back in town is an unexpected bonus.

When Haley left a high-powered job in New York City to take care of her grandmother, she never expected to run into the boy she’d been crushing on sixteen years earlier. When they end up working together on the homecoming float, she finds the attraction between them just as compelling as before. But when given a choice, will she give him her heart, or leave love behind to return to her job in the city?

Change of Plans by Cami CheckettsKaitlyn Johanson comes home to Echo Ridge planning to bring the sparks back with her high school boyfriend, Mason, work at Kenworth's, and enjoy family and the beautiful valley. She never expected her heartthrob, national-acclaimed lacrosse player, Axel Olsen, would visit her hometown. When Axel steals her attention and possibly her heart from the man she was supposed to marry, she has to choose if she'll take a risk on new love or give old love a second chance.

Coming Home to Love by Rachelle J. ChristensenWhen Laney Richins left Echo Ridge, New York eight years ago, she vowed she’d never return, but life had other plans. Those plans included her cute little boy and a divorce, so Laney moved back home and started over. Working in the flower shop seems like the perfect plan until Billy Redford, the man she should have married shows up. Billy Redford’s heart was broken when his high school sweetheart turned her back on him and fled Echo Ridge for the big city lights. Running into Laney in Echo Ridge now brings up past feelings he thought were long gone. She’s prettier than ever, still seems to read his mind, and despite his protests ends up on the building and decorating committee with him for the Homecoming dance. Billy knows how to build just about anything, but he isn’t sure he knows how to mend a broken heart.

I am grateful to Author for giving me a copy of this book. The fact I received this book for free does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The overall rating is based on the highest rated book in the anthology

From the first sentence of this story, I had a smile on my face. This is my favorite Lucy McConnell book that I have read. Carter was so perfect, always seeming to know exactly what to do. Abigail (I did wonder that no one used the nickname Abby for her), was broken and insecure after having her life fall apart though she was obviously popular in high school (former Homecoming Queen). The sweet way she honored and loved her parents was great. The writing of the story was perfect and engaging throughout and the pace was perfect. There were a few things I thought might end up happening, but the fact they didn’t did not detract from the story.

Yes, this story was truly laugh out loud funny. Through most of the story. Wyatt couldn’t have been more of a character than he was. Cocky, sweet, clever. Anthony was annoyingly, well, annoying. And JoJo was oblivious. It was fun having Garrett and Lacey in this story – they were in the last Echo Ridge anthology in the story My Fair Lacey.

This story was more serious than the previous ones, which is consistent with the types of stories that Heather Tullis writes. It was a good story with an interesting plot and believable characters. Haley’s sweet care of her Gran, and the way she was willing to leave her high-powered job to work at a diner showed the kind of person she was. The drama with her family was well done, and hinted at who might be in the next Echo Ridge story.

I did have a little problem believing that Haley pined after Damon for 15 years after having only known him for 6 months in High School. And that Damon was still enamored with her after that same amount of time, despite having been deeply in love with the woman he had married and had a daughter with right out of college (had to be that timing according to Maggie’s age) and who had only died a year prior. I understand that he could have fallen in love with her quickly, but it felt like they had both been waiting for each other all that time. There were also a few inconsistencies in the time sequences, but I think it is just the way my brain works that I noticed them.

While the story was sweet overall, I think it would have been better told just from Kaitlyn’s perspective to preserve the mystery of how it would come out. There was also a disturbing scene when Kait and Axel visited a “friend” from his lacrosse team. I would like to unread that part of the story.

This story was a sweet romance with a bit of suspense when Laney’s creepy ex-husband shows up.

About Rachelle J. Christensen

Rachelle is a mother of five who writes mystery/suspense, nonfiction, and women’s fiction. She solves the case of the missing shoe on a daily basis. She enjoys raising chickens and laughing with her husband. She graduated cum laude from Utah State University with a degree in psychology and a minor in music.